joris_w Reviews

Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos: Part One (2024) Season 1, Episode 1

A mess

[6/10 · 15 September 2024]

I like Chase and I'm an obsessive Sopranos fan. Maybe that makes me the wrong audience for this.

This episode starts out with an unintelligible garbled mess of clips of Chase talking. Incoherent. For 6 minutes.

Apparently this was intended as an intro. When finally starting to talk about the show, we're bombarded with clips from the show itself as if we haven't seen these scenes. Everything is needlessly supported by either clips or animation of the script being written. All very cheesy.

All in all this episode had very little to offer to fans and was edited horribly.

I sincerely hope subsequent episodes will do better.

Kinds of Kindness (2024)

Works because of Jesse Plemons, until it overindulges into nonsense

[6/10 · 21 August 2024]

Kinds of Kindness is divided into three stories with the same cast. A high level of absurdity and unpredictability mixed with some mystery make for a funny quirky thriller at first. Jesse Plemons excels at making this quirkiness work to the benefit of the movie.

Then the first chapter ends and turns into the second, shuffling things around, which already begins to demand some tolerance and patience from the viewer. Random things are inserted for shock value that amuse at first but then become to seem pretentious.

By the third chapter, the movie has overindulged in random ideas that are appear intended to impress without clear direction. At this point it's just absurdity for the sake of absurdity, which comes across as an underestimation of the critical viewer.

All in all, I enjoyed the first part, and think Plemons did great, but ultimately believe we could've picked a better movie, and intend to stay away from films by this particular director in the future.

The X-Files: Teliko (1996) Season 4, Episode 3

A decent monster of the week but with a weak script

[5/10 · 2 October 2023]

The concept for this monster of the week is original and the execution is makes for a good scare.

But the plot is weak and the progression seems lazily written. Revelations for the case come out of the blue with no clear origin.

Quite a few nonsensical actions on Mulders part (why would the UN lady know anything?) and dialog is lacking too at times. Both Scully and Mulder even inject political philosophies about xenophobia that don't really seem to follow at all from the story.

The main cast of course never disappoints meaning episode is not a complete waste. The guest stars do a decent enough job.

But all in all what seems like a script written in a hurry with little to no supervision.

Succession: Connor's Wedding (2023) Season 4, Episode 3

Succession places itself among the greatest

[10/10 · 11 April 2023]

I've been a fan of the show from the beginning, and have been starting to rank it among the top 5 shows of all time.

Season 3 made me unsure if the heights of 1 and 2 would be seen again.

Well here it is, in all its glory.

This episode is to Succession what The Suitcase is to Mad Men and what Long Term Parking is to The Sopranos: their magnum opus, that seals Succession as one of the greatest shows of all time.

I was stunned all the way through and still am. The episode will be discussed long after the show ends.

Unbelievable performances from everyone involved. Fantastic all around. May it rain Emmys.

Norm Macdonald Live (2013–2017)

Norm's best work

[9/10 · 28 February 2023]

Honestly, I was never a _huge_ fan of Norm's stand up or even the Weekend Update on SNL. I thought they were funny enough but I could see how Norm was a little rough for the mainstream.

But here, in his own self-created comedy sanctuary, Norm truly shines. His improv is off the charts and bounces gloriously off his well chosen guests, as well as his co-host Adam, who fills the sidekick part admirably.

Each broadcast opens with hilarious 'opening remarks' between Norm and Adam that last up to 20 minutes. These are actually my favorite parts.

The first season is the best imho, but there are some gems in later seasons too.

An addictive show to come back to regularly for the sublime comedic vibe that Norm creates.

For a good sample of the show, go for the one with Billy Bob Thornton. Enjoy.

The White Lotus (2021–2025)

The White Lotus pulls a True Detective

[4/10 · 14 November 2022]

Season one was a home run. Every character, every episode, fabulous. If you haven't seen it, don't wait another second and enjoy the ride.

Season two however hasn't intrigued me, or made me laugh, once. Not a single character is either funny or compelling. Save for (again) the hotel manager. Michael Imperioli is given hardly anything to work with, and ends up basically playing himself (personality wise at least).

I rejoiced when I learned that some of the finest characters from S1 would make a come back. Seeing what they made them into now - cynical, half dead - I regret that they did.

I'll never understand what happens with these shows that start out so great and then deliver a dud of a second season.

Enjoy season 1, then forget about this show.

The Dread (2017)

Lovely documentary edited into a very entertaining tale

[8/10 · 26 March 2022]

Saw this at the Amsterdam documentary festival IDFA when it came out.

This movie makes for a lot of laughs as it tells an endearing story of superstition as part of small town life in rural Argentina.

Through terrific editing together of personal accounts of local residents, as well as a wedding ceremony, I was made to feel a lot of love for the people in this story.

Nobody (I) (2021)

Tasteless and immature violence fest

[3/10 · 28 April 2021]

The only reason I gave this movie a shot was because Bob had the lead role. Boy am I puzzled why he took part in this.

If you're into a razor thin plot and a bunch of out of context fight scenes, have at it.

If you're over the age of 19, pick another movie.

Burn After Reading (2008)

Underrated

[8/10 · 4 February 2021]

This may not be the 'artsiest' of the Coens, but to me this one of their finest, and definitely one of the funniest. Makes me laugh louder than Fargo or The Big Lebowski. One outrageous scene after another. I watch it every year and it never gets old.

Each member of the cast does an unbelievable job in this one, especially Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand. And not to forget, the great John Malkovich.

If you're in for a night of good laughs, look no further.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

Guess I was the only one to enjoy this

[7/10 · 22 October 2020]

I was ready to turn this off because of the bloodbath in the reviews here. But I enjoyed it, start to finish. Maybe it's my kind of humor. I liked all of the characters, and for the duration, I never knew what would come next. If you can take a little negativity, I'd say this piece has enough humor and surprises to keep you engaged.

El Camino (2019)

Not worth the effort

[5/10 · 13 October 2019]

This sequel-tv-movie has little to offer. Given the opportunity at hand with all the possible plots from the series to draw on, it disappoints spectacularly.

With its two hours, by the end of the first hour, I found myself growing worried whether any real story was going to come into play. And it really didn't go anywhere from there either. Trivial scenes that don't build any plot are stretched out way too long.

Cameos by several characters seem shoehorned in without merit any other than to please the fans. And in the end that's all it really does: throw nuggets of nostalgia at an underestimated audience.

I hate to say it, but this does seem like a money grab for all involved. Just seems like Netflix made them an offer they couldn't refuse, at an artistic price they shouldn't have paid.

Green Book (2018)

Clichéd, overrated and sentimental

[5/10 · 27 February 2019]

I love Mahershala Ali. I just finished True Detective 3, and he shines in that. Same goes for Moonlight - a beautiful role.

By comparison, this movie has Mahershala descend into a slapstick of a role in my opinion, up against even more of a slapstick character (that of Tony Lip) in a movie that tries to build from now-50 year old racial clichés, a one-dimensional drama.

Very disappointed after the buzz at the Oscars. I hope Ali wins an Emmy for his work on True Detective S3 - a protrayal that truly deserves credit.

Raising Arizona (1987)

Chaotic and painfully immature

[5/10 · 8 May 2017]

Being a huge fan of the Coens, and unsure whether I had seen Raising Arizona yet, I put it on.

Hoping for something as good as Fargo or The Big Lebowski, or perhaps No Country, Raising Arizona to me was very disappointing.

The premise / set up of the story is goofy but alright, but then the chaotic scenes you have to sit through the story line, are just too many. I found myself skipping through the endless scenes of hysterical screaming and other noise.

A less hysterical, less loud screenplay may have made me appreciate more of what was otherwise a very beautifully shot film, especially for 1987.

The Revenant (I) (2015)

Pretty visuals and shock value cannot fix a bad plot

[4/10 · 1 February 2016]

This movie to me is another one of those movies that seek to shock the viewer into appreciating a movie that lacks any kind of enjoyable or believable plot line.

It's just one incident followed by the next, painfully stretched over 2 and a half hours.

Yes, the scenery is beautiful and frankly it would be hard to shoot that in a way that the result wouldn't be very visually appealing. Yes, the exclusive use of natural light makes for an interesting palette. There's some CGI / animation involved that is very impressive. DiCaprio's performance doesn't leave much to be desired.

But the story.. is just.. terrible. And the character Tom Hardy shows us is nothing more than a cliché stereotype meant to inspire 1990s bad guy loathing.

With the credits rolling, this movie left me puzzled how other viewers can apparently be shocked or visually pleased into rating a movie with a story that is predictable, long stretched, with a lot of not very believable developments, an 8+. Doesn't story matter anymore?

Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024)

Genius at first, then, not so much.

[7/10 · 14 January 2014]

It's tough to rate a show which was so good the first half but such a let down immediately thereafter. While many may disagree, surely there must be equally many fans like me.

The first four seasons in my opinion are unprecedented comedy with some episodes so timeless that I could keep watching them forever.

What happened after that I don't know, but to me, not a single episode from season 5 forward had any of the wit or spontaneity that seasons 1 through 4 had. Every joke seems old and predictable, as well as the execution. Even the parts other than Larry's. The only reason I stuck around for a while was a character named Leon, who was able to fill some of that comic vacuum for some time.

While I'm afraid to recommend the show the way it is now, seasons 1 through 4 are a must see if you want to know what's been the greatest and smartest comedy ever produced on TV. Favorite episode: The 5 Wood.

Star Trek (2009)

Laughing stock

[1/10 · 13 May 2009]

Way to go, Paramount, for turning your sole virtue into a laughing stock.

As exquisite as the visuals may have been in this movie, they were also sensationalist and too obviously Abrams' footprint. I saw Lost everywhere.

The story was absolutely ludicrous and chaotic. The lines they had some of the characters say (you'll know what I mean when you hear them say them) symbolize exactly how superficial and thoughtless this story was written.

Trek is dead. I hope they won't make a follow-up to this.